


The Aftermath

by silvermax



Category: Breaking Bad
Genre: Coming of Age, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Felina, Walter Jr. centric, Walter Jr. is bi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvermax/pseuds/silvermax
Summary: Ever since Walt was revealed as "Heisenberg", his family was never the same. Now that he's dead, Walter, Jr. is trying to move on with his life. But the past still haunts him.*Revolves around a HUGE spoiler, so I wouldn't recommend reading unless you've finished the series.*
Relationships: Louis Corbett/Walter "Flynn" White Jr.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	The Aftermath

Flynn's first reaction was anger. His father was the one who decided to start selling drugs, and who put the family in danger so many times. In a way, it was a blessing that he was out of their lives. But still, it didn't stop him from missing him.

He was determined to have a normal senior year, and for the most part, he was successful. He shifted his concerns to those of his peers: college applications, grades, work, girls. Friday nights would be spent sitting on the hood of Louis's car, beers in hand, talking about the future. At that stage in their lives, the talk was purely hypothetical. For now, all they could do was sit out there, looking at the stars and dreaming.

Sometimes, though, there would be moments when he'd be reminded of his father. For example, once, he was at Louis's house and "Horse With No Name" started playing on the kitchen radio. _Dad's favorite song._ They would listen to it in the car on the way to his physical therapy appointments when he was a kid. He remembered his father tapping the steering wheel in time with the song and singing the lyrics. "I've been through the desert on a horse with no name/It felt good to be out of the rain. In the desert, you can't remember your name/'cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain." Despite his best efforts, he was crying.

"You okay, man?" Louis.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." He wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

Some mornings, he'd smell bacon cooking and walk to the kitchen, half-expecting to see his father. But, only seeing his mother and sister, the reality would hit him, and he'd start to get sad.

And Holly.... goddamn it, it _hurt_ , to think that she was growing up without a dad. She wouldn't even remember him! While he was still living at home, he was determined to do his best to fill that role. Changing her diapers, playing with her, showing her what things were.

Her second birthday was two days after Christmas. That afternoon, there was a little party, with the family present. Marie pinched the girl's cheeks and gushed over how cute she was. "My little munchkin!" she squealed.

They sang "Happy Birthday", and then Skyler told her, "Make a wish, sweetie."

She blew out the two little candles on her cake. Flynn watched her shovel handfuls of it into her mouth and laughed along with everyone else. But, amid the levity, he felt a pang of sadness.

With the passing months, the death started to hurt just a little less. The media attention surrounding the fall of "Heisenberg" had died down, so it was easy to forget about it. Besides, there was a lot going on in Flynn's life. He heard back from the colleges he'd applied to, and after combing through a few acceptance letters, he decided he was going to UCLA. He'd always loved southern California. The sea had always fascinated him, with its wild beauty.

There was senior prom, which he'd been looking forward to his entire high school career. He and his mother went shopping for tuxedos. In the fitting room, as always, he had some trouble pulling on the pants. "Need help in there?"

" _No_ , Mom."

She was about to ask, "You want me or Dad?" out of habit, but caught herself. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

He went to prom with his friends. Louis was going to drive them all there. His mother and aunt insisted on taking loads of pictures before they left. So the kids all stood in the doorway in ill-fitting formal wear, big smiles slowly faltering. "Okay, I'll let you guys go now," laughed Skyler. "You're all great kids. Have a good night!"

"Bye, Mom!"

As they all sped off, she looked out at them and smiled. The last year and a half had been rough for all of them, so she especially loved seeing her son happy like that.

In the car, Louis turned on the radio. "Super Bass" came on. "Okay, everybody, shut the hell up, I love this song!" said one of the friends, Isabel. She started rapping along with it, and everybody else shook their heads and laughed. Flynn stuck his head out the open window. The air was still a little warm, but he loved how it felt on his skin. For some reason, he felt _free_.

The J.P. Wynne senior prom was held in the ballroom of a nearby hotel. The music was blasting by the time the group arrived, and the room was full of dancing teenagers in corsages and tuxedos or evening gowns. The night was young and they were ready to party.

At the first slow song of the night, Flynn just walked outside. Louis joined him. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Ah, slow songs. I always feel awkward during those."

"Yeah, I know. Me, too."

"That's _one_ thing that hasn't changed since freshman year." They both laughed.

After a bit, Louis leaned in and..... _kissed_ him. It felt strange, kissing a boy. "Whoa," he said afterwards. 

Both parties blushed and averted their eyes. "I- I'm sorry, I don't know what the hell that was....."

He could hear the song changing. "Well," said Flynn, feeling incredibly awkward. "Why don't we go back inside and dance?"

"Y-yeah, sure."

They didn't mention the kiss for the rest of the night. But when it came time to drop Flynn off, Louis stepped out of the car and said, "Flynn, I... I'm sorry about that. If you don't feel the same way, that's okay, really. I didn't...."

He sighed. "Louis. It's complicated. I'm going through a lot of shit right now, so.... we can talk about it when I've got everything figured out. But for now, can we just drop it? _Please_?"

"Okay." He got back into his car. "See you around."

Two weeks later, the class of 2011 graduated. "Flynn White," said the principal. And with that, he got up, shook hands with her, and received his diploma. _I made it,_ he thought.

For the most part, the summer was pretty great. He was out with his friends a lot more, trying to enjoy their time together before they parted ways. In July, he turned eighteen, and he was feeling pretty excited about it. But when his mother arranged his bacon strips to make the number 18 that morning, he could feel himself starting to cry. Fuck, he was supposed to be _over_ it! Everyone _else_ was! Why wasn't _he?_

"Oh, honey...." She gave him a hug.

"I thought I was over it already!"

"I know."

"It's been ten months! Why am I still..."

"You have to give it time, honey." Once his tears had slowed, she asked, "Do you want to talk to somebody about this? Like a therapist?"

"I... I don't know."

"Well, I think it might help."

* * *

The first few months of college were fairly easy. He made new friends, started to adjust to his new surroundings. For a while, he was able to forget. But one afternoon, he was in the lounge with his friends when they started talking about "Heisenberg". "Man, who would have thought some 50-year-old schoolteacher would turn into a..... _kingpin_?" laughed one of them.

 _That 50-year-old schoolteacher was my dad,_ he thought. He stared at the floor, trying to drown out the conversation. Then one of his friends tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Aren't you from Albuquerque?"

"Y-yeah."

"What was it like, living there when all that was going on?"

He shrugged. "Normal, I guess."

Years passed. With some reluctance, he eventually took his mother's advice of talking to someone about it. And at first, it wasn't easy. It hurt, actually, feeling all that sadness and anger in full force all over again. But after a while, he found that it helped. He felt less alone.

He graduated college, majoring in computer science. And after the graduation, he drove back home, passing by all the familiar landmarks. The liquor store where he and his friends would try to get people to buy them beer. His high school. And then he drove by the old house, which was now in complete disrepair. He felt a little bit of nostalgia for his teen years. Everything was easier back then. Even now, adulthood still felt so uncertain.

That night, he decided to catch up with some of his old friends. They all met at Isabel's place, where they had a little party, with some drinks. The whole time, he was looking over at Louis. He knew that kiss four years back was old news, but it was still a nice memory.

When the two got a moment alone tonight, he said, "So. It's been a while."

"Yeah."

"What have you been up to?"

"The usual. School, work. I graduate next week."

"Oh. Nice." After a few minutes of awkward silence, he figured he should just bring it up already. "So.... do you remember senior prom?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You kissed me, remember that?"

He looked down. "Yeah, I do." _I haven't stopped thinking about it._

"And I said I didn't think I was ready for a relationship yet. But...." He wasn't sure how the other man would react. "Do you think we could try that again?"

Louis smirked a little. "Well, if you say so." And with that, he leaned in for another kiss.

His mouth was cold from the ice in his drink, and it tasted vaguely like a margarita. For some reason, this felt more special than that first time. "So, Flynn," said Louis when they parted. "Does this mean we're together?"

"Yes. And... you can call me Junior again."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Holly was six now, a curious kid in braids and pink sneakers. She was always playing around and getting dirty. Her mother didn't particularly like when she dug up worms and brought them in, but she was just glad she was enjoying herself.

She was starting to wonder about her father now, as was her nature. Skyler didn't know how to explain to her about him, so she just gave vague responses. Unsatisfied, Holly asked her brother one afternoon. "What was my dad like?"

"He was a teacher. He was really smart."

"Mom doesn't like to talk about him. Was he a bad person?"

He didn't know _how_ to feel about him anymore. "Well.... he wasn't perfect."

"What do you mean?"

"He did some bad things and made some bad choices. But he loved all of us, he really did."

"Even me?"

"Yes, even you. _Especially_ you."

Skyler heard this conversation and remembered her relationship with Walt, before the cancer and the drugs entered the picture. Things were easier. Even in those fraught months before Walter, Jr. was finally diagnosed with cerebral palsy, they had each other to hold onto when things got stressful.

She was taken back, to that house on Negro Arroyo, before they decided to buy it. Because the house was empty, it felt a lot bigger than it was. They were both so young. Her in her pink maternity dress, him in his black windbreaker. "I think we'll need at least _five_ bedrooms," he'd said.

" _Walt._ Do I look like I'm about to drop a litter?"

"No, no. We'll have three kids- total, eventually."

And she was taken back even further, right before she met him. She was sitting at the counter of that restaurant she worked at, looking over her shoulder to make sure her boss wasn't coming. Then, taking out her pen, she filled out the newspaper's crossword puzzle. While she was filling it out, she heard a man's voice say, "Oh, wow, you're pretty good at that!"

She looked up. It was a man she'd seen here a few times. "Yeah."

He smiled and extended his hand. "Walter."

She shook it. "Skyler."

Such an innocent start. It was a shame how it had ended. But the past was the past, and there was nothing she could do about it.


End file.
